Reading guide
The teaching in one sentence
The Buddha lays out the “path to convergence” in complete detail — the four foundations of mindfulness, meditating on the body, feelings, the mind, and principles, culminating in a full exposition of the four noble truths — and promises that anyone who develops all four correctly, even for as little as seven days, can expect either full enlightenment in this very life or non-return.
Four foundations, one method repeated
The discourse opens by naming its subject directly: four kinds of mindfulness meditation, described as “the path to convergence,” leading to the purification of beings, the overcoming of sorrow, the ending of pain, and ultimately to realizing extinguishment. These are contemplation of the body, of feelings, of the mind, and of principles (dhammas) — and each of the four sections that follow closes with the same refrain: the meditator observes the chosen object internally, externally, and both; observes its arising and passing; and maintains bare mindfulness of its existence, independent, grasping at nothing. That refrain matters as much as any individual instruction. It is a reminder that satipaṭṭhāna is not a checklist to complete once, but a single stance — attentive, unclinging awareness — applied again and again to whatever the mind happens to be doing.
Contemplating the body, six ways
The body section is the longest and most concrete of the four, moving through six distinct exercises. Mindfulness of breathing comes first: noticing long and short breaths exactly as they are, without controlling them, compared to a skilled carpenter who simply knows whether a cut is deep or shallow. Next comes awareness of posture — knowing walking as walking, sitting as sitting — and then situational clarity in every ordinary activity, from bending an arm to eating a meal. The fourth exercise turns unflinchingly inward: a systematic inventory of the body’s thirty-some parts, from head hair to urine, compared to sorting a bag of mixed grains. The fifth analyzes the body by its four physical elements — earth, water, fire, and air — using the notably unsentimental image of a butcher displaying cuts of meat at a crossroads. And the sixth, the charnel ground contemplations, is the most demanding of all: nine successive stages of a corpse’s decay, from a bloated, day-old body through gradual consumption by scavengers to bones scattered, bleached, and finally crumbled to powder — each stage compared directly back to the meditator’s own body, which “is also of that same nature… and cannot go beyond that.”
Feelings, mind, and principles
The second foundation is comparatively brief: simply noticing whether a feeling is pleasant, painful, or neutral, and further whether it arises from worldly or spiritual sources — a distinction that keeps the practice from collapsing into a crude hedonic tally, since not every pleasant feeling is the same kind of pleasant. The third foundation catalogs sixteen states of mind in contrasting pairs: with or without greed, hatred, or delusion; contracted or scattered; expansive or not; supreme or not; immersed in samādhi or not; freed or not. The fourth foundation, principles, is the broadest, sweeping in the five hindrances, the five aggregates of clinging, the six sense fields and the fetters that arise there, the seven awakening factors — and finally, in far greater depth than any of the sections before it, the four noble truths.
The truths, given in full
This is where DN 22 distinguishes itself most sharply from its close relative, MN 10. Where the Majjhima version states the four truths in a single compact formula and moves on, this discourse pauses to define every term completely: suffering is defined item by item — rebirth, old age, death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, sadness, distress, being coupled with the disliked, separation from the liked, not getting what one wishes for, and, in brief, the five grasping aggregates — with each term itself further defined in turn. The origin of suffering is traced to craving, and that craving is shown taking root in every one of the six senses, their objects, the six kinds of consciousness, contact, feeling, perception, intention, craving itself, and reflective thought about each — a genuinely exhaustive survey of exactly where craving can attach itself in ordinary experience. The cessation of suffering mirrors that same structure in reverse, showing craving released at each of those same points. And the path is given as the noble eightfold path in full, each factor defined rather than merely named, down to right immersion described through all four levels of absorption. Reading this section against MN 10’s brief mention of “the practice that leads to the cessation of suffering… the noble eightfold path” makes the difference between the two discourses immediately visible: MN 10 assumes the listener already knows the four truths in detail from elsewhere; DN 22 supplies that detail itself, making the discourse self-contained.
A promise with a timetable
The discourse closes with one of the most specific claims about practice anywhere in the canon: anyone who develops these four foundations correctly for seven years can expect one of two results, full enlightenment in this very life or, if some trace of clinging remains, non-return. The text then does something almost startling — it repeats the same promise for six years, five, four, three, two, one, then month by month down to a single fortnight, and finally states it once more for a mere seven days. This is not decorative repetition. It is a claim, stated with escalating specificity, that the timetable for results is not fixed at some forbiddingly long span; the practice is asserted to work on a much shorter horizon than a casual reader might assume, provided it is actually developed “in this way,” meaning with the full seriousness the preceding sections describe.
Reading this next to MN 10
For readers who have already worked through MN 10 elsewhere on this site, the experience of reading DN 22 is less like encountering new material than like watching a familiar structure receive its full architectural detail. Every foundation, every exercise, every refrain is the same. The expansion is concentrated almost entirely in one place — the truths — and that concentration is itself instructive: it suggests that of everything satipaṭṭhāna eventually leads to, the tradition considered the four noble truths the one place too important to leave implicit. Whichever version a reader meets first, the other is worth returning to precisely for what it omits or adds; the comparison is part of what each discourse has to teach.
Key terms
The text
The four foundations, stated
§1So I have heard. At one time the Buddha was staying in the land of the Kurus, near the Kuru town named Kammāsadamma. There the Buddha addressed the mendicants, “Mendicants!” “Venerable sir,” they replied. The Buddha said this: “Mendicants, the four kinds of mindfulness meditation are the path to convergence. They are in order to purify sentient beings, to get past sorrow and crying, to make an end of pain and sadness, to discover the system, and to realize extinguishment. What four? It’s when a mendicant meditates by observing an aspect of the body—keen, aware, and mindful, rid of covetousness and displeasure for the world. They meditate observing an aspect of feelings… the mind… and principles—keen, aware, and mindful, rid of covetousness and displeasure for the world.
1. Observing the Body — mindfulness of breathing
§2And how does a mendicant meditate observing an aspect of the body? It’s when a mendicant—gone to a wilderness, or to the root of a tree, or to an empty hut—sits down cross-legged, sets their body straight, and brings mindfulness to the present. Just mindful, they breathe in. Mindful, they breathe out. Breathing in heavily they know: ‘I’m breathing in heavily.’ Breathing out heavily they know: ‘I’m breathing out heavily.’ When breathing in lightly they know: ‘I’m breathing in lightly.’ Breathing out lightly they know: ‘I’m breathing out lightly.’ They practice like this: ‘I’ll breathe in experiencing the whole body.’ They practice like this: ‘I’ll breathe out experiencing the whole body.’ They practice like this: ‘I’ll breathe in stilling the physical process.’ They practice like this: ‘I’ll breathe out stilling the physical process.’ It’s like a deft carpenter or carpenter’s apprentice. When making a deep cut they know: ‘I’m making a deep cut,’ and when making a shallow cut they know: ‘I’m making a shallow cut.’
And so they meditate observing an aspect of the body internally, externally, and both internally and externally. With respect to the body, they meditate observing the liability to originate, to vanish, and to originate and vanish. Or mindfulness is established that the body exists, to the extent necessary for knowledge and mindfulness. They meditate independent, not grasping at anything in the world. That’s how a mendicant meditates by observing an aspect of the body.
The postures, and situational awareness
§3–4Furthermore, when a mendicant is walking they know: ‘I am walking.’ When standing they know: ‘I am standing.’ When sitting they know: ‘I am sitting.’ And when lying down they know: ‘I am lying down.’ Whatever posture their body is in, they know it. And so they meditate observing an aspect of the body… That too is how a mendicant meditates by observing an aspect of the body.
Furthermore, a mendicant acts with situational awareness when going out and coming back; when looking ahead and aside; when bending and extending the limbs; when bearing the outer robe, bowl, and robes; when eating, drinking, chewing, and tasting; when urinating and defecating; when walking, standing, sitting, sleeping, waking, speaking, and keeping silent. And so they meditate observing an aspect of the body internally… That too is how a mendicant meditates by observing an aspect of the body.
Focusing on the repulsive, and on the elements
§5–6Furthermore, a mendicant examines their own body, up from the soles of the feet and down from the tips of the hairs, wrapped in skin and full of many kinds of filth. ‘In this body there is head hair, body hair, nails, teeth, skin, flesh, sinews, bones, bone marrow, kidneys, heart, liver, diaphragm, spleen, lungs, intestines, mesentery, undigested food, feces, bile, phlegm, pus, blood, sweat, fat, tears, grease, saliva, snot, synovial fluid, urine.’ It’s as if there were a bag with openings at both ends, filled with various kinds of grains, such as fine rice, wheat, mung beans, peas, sesame, and ordinary rice. And a person with clear eyes were to open it and examine the contents: ‘These grains are fine rice, these are wheat, these are mung beans, these are peas, these are sesame, and these are ordinary rice.’ And so they meditate observing an aspect of the body… That too is how a mendicant meditates by observing an aspect of the body.
Furthermore, a mendicant examines their own body, whatever its placement or posture, according to the elements: ‘In this body there is the earth element, the water element, the fire element, and the air element.’ It’s as if a deft butcher or butcher’s apprentice were to kill a cow and sit down at the crossroads with the meat cut into chops. And so they meditate observing an aspect of the body… That too is how a mendicant meditates by observing an aspect of the body.
The charnel ground contemplations
§7–10Furthermore, suppose a mendicant were to see a corpse discarded in a charnel ground. And it had been dead for one, two, or three days, bloated, livid, and festering. They’d compare it with their own body: ‘This body is also of that same nature, that same kind, and cannot go beyond that.’
Furthermore, suppose they were to see a corpse discarded in a charnel ground being devoured by crows, hawks, vultures, herons, hounds, tigers, leopards, jackals, and many kinds of little creatures… Or a skeleton with flesh and blood, held together by sinews… a skeleton without flesh but smeared with blood, held together by sinews… a skeleton rid of flesh and blood, held together by sinews… bones rid of sinews, scattered in every direction—here a hand-bone, there a foot-bone, here an ankle bone, there a shin-bone, here a thigh-bone, there a hip-bone, here a rib-bone, there a back-bone, here an arm-bone, there a neck-bone, here a jaw-bone, there a tooth, here the skull…
White bones, the color of shells… decrepit bones, heaped in a pile… bones rotted and crumbled to powder. They’d compare it with their own body each time: ‘This body is also of that same nature, that same kind, and cannot go beyond that.’ And so they meditate observing an aspect of the body internally, externally, and both internally and externally. With respect to the body, they meditate observing the liability to originate, to vanish, and to originate and vanish. Or mindfulness is established that the body exists, to the extent necessary for knowledge and mindfulness. They meditate independent, not grasping at anything in the world. That too is how a mendicant meditates by observing an aspect of the body.
2. Observing the Feelings
§11And how does a mendicant meditate observing an aspect of feelings? It’s when a mendicant who feels a pleasant feeling knows: ‘I feel a pleasant feeling.’ When they feel a painful feeling, they know: ‘I feel a painful feeling.’ When they feel a neutral feeling, they know: ‘I feel a neutral feeling.’ When they feel a pleasant feeling of the flesh, they know: ‘I feel a pleasant feeling of the flesh.’ When they feel a pleasant feeling not of the flesh, they know it as such. The same distinction — of the flesh, or not of the flesh — applies to painful and to neutral feelings as well.
And so they meditate observing an aspect of feelings internally, externally, and both internally and externally. With respect to feelings, they meditate observing the liability to originate, to vanish, and to originate and vanish. Or mindfulness is established that feelings exist, to the extent necessary for knowledge and mindfulness. They meditate independent, not grasping at anything in the world. That’s how a mendicant meditates by observing an aspect of feelings.
3. Observing the Mind
§12And how does a mendicant meditate observing an aspect of the mind? It’s when a mendicant understands mind with greed as ‘mind with greed,’ and mind without greed as ‘mind without greed.’ They understand mind with hate as ‘mind with hate,’ and mind without hate as ‘mind without hate.’ They understand mind with delusion as ‘mind with delusion,’ and mind without delusion as ‘mind without delusion.’ They know constricted mind as ‘constricted mind,’ and scattered mind as ‘scattered mind.’ They know expansive mind as ‘expansive mind,’ and unexpansive mind as ‘unexpansive mind.’ They know mind that is not supreme as ‘mind that is not supreme,’ and mind that is supreme as ‘mind that is supreme.’ They know mind immersed in samādhi as ‘mind immersed in samādhi,’ and mind not immersed in samādhi as ‘mind not immersed in samādhi.’ They know freed mind as ‘freed mind,’ and unfreed mind as ‘unfreed mind.’
And so they meditate observing an aspect of the mind internally, externally, and both internally and externally. With respect to the mind, they meditate observing the liability to originate, to vanish, and to originate and vanish. Or mindfulness is established that the mind exists, to the extent necessary for knowledge and mindfulness. They meditate independent, not grasping at anything in the world. That’s how a mendicant meditates by observing an aspect of the mind.
4. Observing Principles — the hindrances
§13And how does a mendicant meditate observing an aspect of principles? It’s when a mendicant meditates by observing an aspect of principles with respect to the five hindrances. And how? It’s when a mendicant who has sensual desire in them understands: ‘I have sensual desire in me.’ When they don’t have sensual desire in them, they understand that too. They understand how sensual desire arises; how, when it’s already arisen, it’s given up; and how, once it’s given up, it doesn’t arise again in the future. The same fourfold understanding — present or absent, how it arises, how it is given up, how it stays given up — is applied in turn to ill will, to dullness and drowsiness, to restlessness and remorse, and to doubt.
And so they meditate observing an aspect of principles internally, externally, and both internally and externally. They meditate observing the principles as liable to originate, as liable to fall, and as liable to both originate and vanish. Or mindfulness is established that principles exist, to the extent necessary for knowledge and mindfulness. They meditate independent, not grasping at anything in the world. That’s how a mendicant meditates by observing an aspect of principles with respect to the five hindrances.
The aggregates, the sense fields, the awakening factors
§14Furthermore, a mendicant meditates by observing an aspect of principles with respect to the five grasping aggregates. And how? It’s when a mendicant contemplates: ‘Such is form, such is the origin of form, such is the disappearance of form. Such is feeling… perception… choices… such is consciousness, such is the origin of consciousness, such is the disappearance of consciousness.’ And so they meditate observing an aspect of principles… That’s how a mendicant meditates by observing an aspect of principles with respect to the five grasping aggregates.
§15Furthermore, a mendicant meditates by observing an aspect of principles with respect to the six interior and exterior sense fields. And how? It’s when a mendicant understands the eye, sights, and the fetter that arises dependent on both of these. They understand how the fetter that has not arisen comes to arise; how the arisen fetter comes to be abandoned; and how the abandoned fetter comes to not rise again in the future. The same is understood for the ear and sounds, the nose and smells, the tongue and tastes, the body and touches, and the mind and ideas. And so they meditate observing an aspect of principles… That’s how a mendicant meditates by observing an aspect of principles with respect to the six interior and exterior sense fields.
§16Furthermore, a mendicant meditates by observing an aspect of principles with respect to the seven awakening factors. And how? It’s when a mendicant who has the awakening factor of mindfulness in them understands: ‘I have the awakening factor of mindfulness in me.’ When they don’t, they understand that too. They understand how the awakening factor of mindfulness that has not arisen comes to arise; and how the awakening factor of mindfulness that has arisen becomes fulfilled by development. The same twofold understanding — how it arises, how it is fulfilled by development — is applied in turn to the awakening factors of investigation of principles, energy, rapture, tranquility, immersion, and equanimity.
And so they meditate observing an aspect of principles internally, externally, and both internally and externally. They meditate observing, with respect to the principles, the liability to originate, to vanish, and to originate and vanish. Or mindfulness is established that principles exist, to the extent necessary for knowledge and mindfulness. They meditate independent, not grasping at anything in the world. That’s how a mendicant meditates by observing an aspect of principles with respect to the seven awakening factors.
4.5. The Truths
§17Furthermore, a mendicant meditates by observing an aspect of principles with respect to the four noble truths. And how? It’s when a mendicant truly understands: ‘This is suffering’ … ‘This is the origin of suffering’ … ‘This is the cessation of suffering’ … ‘This is the practice that leads to the cessation of suffering.’
The first recitation section is complete.
The truth of suffering
§18And what is the noble truth of suffering? Rebirth is suffering; old age is suffering; death is suffering; sorrow, lamentation, pain, sadness, and distress are suffering; being coupled with the disliked is suffering; separation from the liked is suffering; not getting what you wish for is suffering. In brief, the five grasping aggregates are suffering.
And what is rebirth? The rebirth, inception, conception, regeneration, manifestation of the sets of phenomena, and acquisition of the sense fields of the various sentient beings in the various orders of sentient beings. This is called rebirth. And what is old age? The old age, decrepitude, broken teeth, grey hair, wrinkly skin, diminished vitality, and failing faculties of the various sentient beings in the various orders of sentient beings. This is called old age. And what is death? The passing away, passing on, disintegration, demise, mortality, death, decease, breaking up of the aggregates, laying to rest of the corpse, and cutting off of the life faculty of the various sentient beings in the various orders of sentient beings. This is called death.
And what is sorrow? The sorrow, sorrowing, state of sorrow, inner sorrow, inner deep sorrow in someone who has undergone misfortune, who has experienced suffering. This is called sorrow. And what is lamentation? The wail, lament, wailing, lamenting, state of wailing and lamentation in someone who has undergone misfortune, who has experienced suffering. This is called lamentation. And what is pain? Physical pain, physical unpleasantness, the painful, unpleasant feeling that’s born from physical contact. This is called pain. And what is sadness? Mental pain, mental displeasure, the painful, unpleasant feeling that’s born from mental contact. This is called sadness. And what is distress? The stress, distress, state of stress and distress in someone who has undergone misfortune, who has experienced suffering. This is called distress.
And what is meant by ‘being coupled with the disliked is suffering’? There are sights, sounds, smells, tastes, touches, and ideas, which are unlikable, undesirable, and disagreeable. And there are those who want to harm, injure, disturb, and threaten you. The coming together with these, the joining, inclusion, mixing with them: this is what is meant by ‘being coupled with the disliked is suffering’. And what is meant by ‘separation from the liked is suffering’? There are sights, sounds, smells, tastes, touches, and ideas, which are likable, desirable, and agreeable. And there are those who want to help, benefit, comfort, and protect you: mother and father, brother and sister, friends and colleagues, relatives and kin. The division from these, the disconnection, segregation, and parting from them: this is what is meant by ‘separation from the liked is suffering’.
And what is meant by ‘not getting what you wish for is suffering’? In sentient beings who are liable to be reborn, such a wish arises: ‘Oh, if only we were not liable to be reborn! If only rebirth would not come to us!’ But you can’t get that by wishing. This is what is meant by ‘not getting what you wish for is suffering.’ In sentient beings who are liable to grow old, fall ill, die, or experience sorrow, lamentation, pain, sadness, and distress, the same wish arises — that they might be free of these things — and it likewise cannot be granted by wishing.
And what is meant by ‘in brief, the five grasping aggregates are suffering’? They are the grasping aggregates that consist of form, feeling, perception, choices, and consciousness. This is what is meant by ‘in brief, the five grasping aggregates are suffering’. This is called the noble truth of suffering.
The origin of suffering
§19And what is the noble truth of the origin of suffering? It’s the craving that leads to future lives, mixed up with relishing and greed, taking pleasure there wherever it alights. That is, craving for sensual pleasures, craving for existence, and craving for nonexistence. But where does that craving arise and where does it settle? Whatever in the world seems nice and pleasant, it is there that craving arises and settles.
And what in the world seems nice and pleasant? The eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind in the world seem nice and pleasant, and it is there that craving arises and settles. Sights, sounds, smells, tastes, touches, and ideas in the world seem nice and pleasant, and it is there that craving arises and settles. Eye consciousness, ear consciousness, nose consciousness, tongue consciousness, body consciousness, and mind consciousness in the world seem nice and pleasant, and it is there that craving arises and settles. Eye contact, ear contact, nose contact, tongue contact, body contact, and mind contact in the world seem nice and pleasant, and it is there that craving arises and settles. Feeling born of eye contact, ear contact, nose contact, tongue contact, body contact, and mind contact in the world seems nice and pleasant, and it is there that craving arises and settles.
Perception of sights, sounds, smells, tastes, touches, and ideas in the world seems nice and pleasant, and it is there that craving arises and settles. Intention regarding sights, sounds, smells, tastes, touches, and ideas in the world seems nice and pleasant, and it is there that craving arises and settles. Craving for sights, sounds, smells, tastes, touches, and ideas in the world seems nice and pleasant, and it is there that craving arises and settles. Thoughts about sights, sounds, smells, tastes, touches, and ideas in the world seem nice and pleasant, and it is there that craving arises and settles. Considerations regarding sights, sounds, smells, tastes, touches, and ideas in the world seem nice and pleasant, and it is there that craving arises and settles. This is called the noble truth of the origin of suffering.
The cessation of suffering
§20And what is the noble truth of the cessation of suffering? It’s the fading away and cessation of that very same craving with no residue left behind; giving it away, letting it go, releasing it, and not clinging to it. Whatever in the world seems nice and pleasant, it is there that craving is given up and ceases. The eye in the world seems nice and pleasant, and it is there that craving is given up and ceases — and so too, in the same way, for the ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind; for sights, sounds, smells, tastes, touches, and ideas; for each of the six kinds of consciousness and each of the six kinds of contact; for the feeling, perception, intention, craving, thought, and consideration born of each — mirroring exactly the same sequence given for the origin of suffering above, but now with craving given up and ceasing at every one of those same points, rather than arising and settling there. Considerations regarding ideas in the world seem nice and pleasant, and it is there that craving is given up and ceases. This is called the noble truth of the cessation of suffering.
The path
§21And what is the noble truth of the practice that leads to the cessation of suffering? It is simply this noble eightfold path, that is: right view, right purpose, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right immersion.
And what is right view? Knowing about suffering, the origin of suffering, the cessation of suffering, and the practice that leads to the cessation of suffering. This is called right view. And what is right purpose? Purposes of renunciation, good will, and harmlessness. This is called right purpose. And what is right speech? Refraining from lying, backbiting, harsh speech, and talking nonsense. This is called right speech. And what is right action? Refraining from killing living creatures, stealing, and sexual misconduct. This is called right action. And what is right livelihood? It’s when a noble disciple gives up wrong livelihood and earns a living by right livelihood. This is called right livelihood.
And what is right effort? It’s when a mendicant generates enthusiasm, tries, makes an effort, exerts the mind, and strives so that bad, unskillful qualities don’t arise. They generate enthusiasm, try, make an effort, exert the mind, and strive so that bad, unskillful qualities that have arisen are given up. They generate enthusiasm, try, make an effort, exert the mind, and strive so that skillful qualities arise. They generate enthusiasm, try, make an effort, exert the mind, and strive so that skillful qualities that have arisen remain, are not lost, but increase, mature, and are completed by development. This is called right effort.
And what is right mindfulness? It’s when a mendicant meditates by observing an aspect of the body—keen, aware, and mindful, rid of covetousness and displeasure for the world. They meditate observing an aspect of feelings… the mind… and principles—keen, aware, and mindful, rid of covetousness and displeasure for the world. This is called right mindfulness — the very four foundations this whole discourse describes.
And what is right immersion? It’s when a mendicant, quite secluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from unskillful qualities, enters and remains in the first absorption, which has the rapture and bliss born of seclusion, while placing the mind and keeping it connected. As the placing of the mind and keeping it connected are stilled, they enter and remain in the second absorption, which has the rapture and bliss born of immersion, with internal clarity and mind at one, without placing the mind and keeping it connected. And with the fading away of rapture, they enter and remain in the third absorption, where they meditate with equanimity, mindful and aware, personally experiencing the bliss of which the noble ones declare, ‘Equanimous and mindful, one meditates in bliss.’ With the giving up of pleasure and pain and the disappearance of former happiness and sadness, they enter and remain in the fourth absorption, without pleasure or pain, with pure equanimity and mindfulness. This is called right immersion. This is called the noble truth of the practice that leads to the cessation of suffering.
And so they meditate observing an aspect of principles internally, externally, and both internally and externally. They meditate observing, with respect to the principles, the liability to originate, to vanish, and to originate and vanish. Or mindfulness is established that principles exist, to the extent necessary for knowledge and mindfulness. They meditate independent, not grasping at anything in the world. That’s how a mendicant meditates by observing an aspect of principles with respect to the four noble truths.
The promise
§22Anyone who develops these four kinds of mindfulness meditation in this way for seven years can expect one of two results: enlightenment in this very life, or if there’s residue left behind, non-return. Let alone seven years, anyone who develops these four kinds of mindfulness meditation in this way for six years, five years, four years, three years, two years, one year, seven months, six months, five months, four months, three months, two months, one month, or a fortnight can expect exactly the same. Let alone a fortnight, anyone who develops these four kinds of mindfulness meditation in this way for seven days can expect one of two results: enlightenment in this very life, or if there’s residue left behind, non-return.
‘The four kinds of mindfulness meditation are the path to convergence. They are in order to purify sentient beings, to get past sorrow and crying, to make an end of pain and sadness, to discover the system, and to realize extinguishment.’ That’s what I said, and this is why I said it.”
That is what the Buddha said. Satisfied, the mendicants approved what the Buddha said.
Self-check quiz
Ten questions. Click an answer to see immediate feedback. No score is recorded — this is for your own checking.